Turning Grammar into a Game

A loyal viewer completed one of my gapped sentences in a recent video on gerunds. He wrote, “Practicing grammar is a great way to relax.” I had to chuckle. Not many would agree. I was expecting answers like “dancing” or “listening to music.” However, I hope that some of my students would back me up…

Group Storytelling: Format and Story Starters

The tools of any online platform will influence your choices of how to present information and how to conduct activities. I continue to lead large live streams of 200+ students a few times a week. I’m using the app Hallo as my platform, and it allows up to four students to hop on camera with me….

Storytelling: Your Go-To Activity

Storytelling can be any teacher’s go-to activity because stories can be short or long and make use of any target language. If you have any concern about your own lack of creativity, don’t worry about running dry; tap into your students’ wonderful minds. All they need is a prompt, like an interesting photo from the…

World Storytelling Day 2016: Got a story to tell?

Join in the fun of celebrating World Storytelling Day. In my last post I offered suggestions for working with fables. What else could you do? 1. Create a story chain. Perhaps my YouTube colleagues and I can inspire your students. This week we released a collaborative playlist for World Storytelling Day 2016. We each told…

Beneficial Ways of Working with Fables

When I learned a month or so ago that someone had actually organized a World Storytelling Day, I grew excited. The official date is March 20, but storytellers are welcome to celebrate the art anytime. Even before my discovery, I had been thinking about making more use of stories in my online lessons. Short stories have helped me contextualize target…